Queen in Exile
by TheThirteenthKaiser
Summary: After Elsa kills the the Duke's two henchmen, she barricades herself from the world again. Anna never stops trying to reach her sister and make it through that door though. An alternate and more violent look at how Frozen could have ended, including events immediately after the film. Rated M for blood, violence, language. Elsanna later on.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfic, kinda curious how it's going to wind up both quality-wise and plot-wise. Please review, favorite, etc. Don't own Frozen, any characters, etc. Let's get the show on the road.**

_Flash_

"Again!" Anna cried out in glee, jumping from magic snow pile to magic snow pile. At the apex of each jump, Elsa conjured a tower of snow, catching her sister before she fell. Anna began jumping faster and faster in her excitement, causing Elsa to create higher and higher pillars. _This is getting dangerous!_

"Wait!" She cried out, not wanting her sister to get hurt, "Slow down!"

Anna continued on, heedless of her sister's warning. As she continued jumping, Elsa slowly rotated to keep Anna in sight. She was casting the ice faster and faster now, trying to keep up with her sister. Suddenly, her foot slipped on the slick ice created minutes before. As she tried to regain her balance, her slippers failed to find any traction on the ground, and she fell over backwards. She watched in horror as Anna, oblivious to what had just happened, jumped again into the air, trusting her sister to catch her.

"Anna!" She shouted, realizing what was about to occur. In desperation, Elsa cast a beam of snow at her sister, trying to once again catch her. She misjudged Anna's jump, however, and struck her sister in the head with her magic. She cried out briefly, then tumbled to the floor, laying still at the bottom. Elsa gasped. _What have I done?_ She rushed over to her sister, gently holding her head in her arms, noticing the white streak of hair that had appeared. Anna was growing cold, and still unmoving. _What have I done?_

_Flash_

_Was that – no, it couldn't have been._

Elsa had just seen a flash of red disappear around the corner that looked suspiciously like a pigtail attached to her sister's head. She hadn't seen her sister for years, not since the Accident. Despite her doubts, she paused in what she had been doing, which was eating a slice of chocolate cake. It was late in the evening, just after sundown, and she had snuck downstairs from the confines of her room to the kitchens. Her parents didn't want her downstairs after dark – _for whatever reason_ – but she frequently disobeyed and made her way down regardless. She put her fork down, then picked up a napkin to remove the last vestiges of chocolate icing from her lips. Elsa stood up and quietly walked towards the turn, peeking around it when she reached it. It led to a long hallway with large wooden doors at the end.

Her sister – _it_ was _her!_ – was at that end, just reaching the doors. Anna opened them and slipped through. Elsa followed behind, her slippers making faint noises on the ground as she padded down the hall. She cracked the door open to see beyond, then opened it wider when she realized no one was in sight. _Where could she have gone?_

Elsa spent a few more minutes wandering that part of the castle looking for her sister, but eventually gave up. She sighed. As much as she wanted to talk to Anna, just _be_ there for her, she knew she couldn't. _Conceal, don't feel._ Her father had begun to teach her the mantra to help control her powers. She knew that seeing her sister again after all this time would trigger the magic. Elsa shuddered at the thought of what would happen if she lost control; she couldn't bear the thought of losing her sister. Sometimes, nightmares crept up on her: Anna and Elsa playing when a block of ice suddenly surrounded Anna, Elsa crying out for her sister when Anna was trapped behind a wall of her magic and her not being able to cut off the flow, a sudden blizzard kicking up in the castle during dinner and Anna becoming ice cold, Anna freezing stiff, Anna being consumed in an icy maelstrom, Anna _becoming_ ice. Elsa let out a sob, unable to contain the emotions within her. Frost began to spread on the ground beneath her; she had slumped to the floor but hadn't noticed. Through watery eyes, she noticed the contrast of the white ice against the dark stone of the wall. Gasping, Elsa stood up and ran back to her room, where she huddled beneath her sheets. The next morning, the window was covered with an inch of ice, and the rest of the room was enveloped in snow.

_Flash_

"Give me my glove!" Elsa demanded, simultaneously combating the surge of magic within her and the equally powerful surge of emotion that rushed over her. Just a minute ago, she had been introduced to a complete stranger by having him and her precious sister, her Anna, ask for a royal and familial blessing of their marriage.

_Anna didn't even know he existed yesterday!_ She mentally seethed, _and now she wants my blessing? Like hell!_ As much as Elsa wanted her sister to be happy, especially after all she herself had done to Anna, that was no excuse to allow reason to be let out the window. After her parents had died in the shipwreck three years ago, Elsa had shrunk within herself even more, if such a thing was possible. The only brightness she ever saw was when she occasionally left the confines of her icy room and caught glimpses of red hair or the cloth of a skirt moving around a corner. She knew, almost as instinct, that it was her sister. As agonizing as it was to reject Anna's pleading, her _demanding_, to be let in not only to Elsa's room but to her heart as well, she refused. _It is for her protection_, Elsa kept repeating to herself. _It is to keep her safe, for I know what will happen if we grow too close, even if she doesn't._ Which made this current tirade all the harder to bear.

"Elsa, please – please, I can't live like this anymore!" Anna pleaded. The agony in her face was heartbreaking. What was sure to come would be worse, though.

"Then leave," Elsa said with tears welling up in her blue eyes. Her sister's look of shock, pain, sorrow, and incredulity was like a dagger to her. With no way to possibly comfort her sister now, but knowing it was the only way to _keep her safe_, she turned away and began to walk off. People were beginning to look at the two of them, Hans trailing behind, but she didn't care. The one person she loved she had shut out, again. _It was for her sake, didn't she see?_

"What did I ever do to you?" The question struck hard, since it held so much truth.

"Enough, Anna." She was beginning to become agitated, the emotions rising within her causing her to begin to lose her grasp on her power. _Please, just go away, Anna – I can't bear to hurt you again._

"No, why? Why do you shut me out – why do you shut the world out? What are you so afraid of?" With every word coming out of her sister's mouth, Elsa felt her exasperation rising, boiling over from the entire situation. _This ball was a mistake. All these people are in danger, don't they see that? Especially – _Anna. That thought, that name, tipped her over the edge. All the pent-up frustration, rage even, of the past years, having to keep her powers hidden from everyone out of fear, fear of what they would do but more importantly for fear she would cause harm – irreparable by the trolls this time – to her beloved sister, let loose.

The magic began from her heart, as all such magic does. An icy ball inside her chest began to pulsate spreading rapidly to her extremities. Focusing with what rationale remained, she directed the cold into her left arm. Whirling, she directed scores of needles of ice into the ground, forming a semicircle around her, which in turn implanted themselves in the wooden floor. The ice formed a palisade around the queen, guarding her from them, and them from her.

As soon as the magic was released, Elsa knew she had made a horrific mistake. The crowd jumped back in fear, but Elsa only saw Anna. There was terror on her face at first, but that slowly disappeared. What took its place was concern, and a fear – not of what she had done, but what she feared Elsa was going to do.

"Elsa?" She whispered, begging almost. Elsa knew without thinking that it was a plea for her to stay, to simply be with her sister, at the least make up for years of absence. Elsa made the heart-wrenching decision. _How does she not realize all this, all I am doing, is for her!?_ She fumbled for the doorknob, unable to break her gaze upon Anna, then found it. _Goodbye. _She swept out the door, rushing out of the building, her sister's gaze haunting her, her final plea echoing in the confines of her mind.

_Flash_

She had heard their voices outside, even before they knocked. _Please, no. You can't be here – it isn't safe._ At the dull thud that resonated through her icy domain, though, the doors opened. Elsa's eyes widened. _I must learn to control my power more!_ Even though she had willed the entrance to remain shut, her sub conscience was mightier than she had thought.

Now they were in her inner sanctum, the image of a massive snowflake etched into the icy floor. Anna's last words had rocked her to the core: "Arendelle's in deep, deep, deep, deep snow."

"What?" Elsa's first thought was _how?_ She had only frozen the fountain, and the fjord while running across it. _Had it come to this, that after years and years of concealment, I can't control them STILL?_ She began panicking, retreating into herself, feeling her power spiraling out of control which began to manifest in the room.

"You kinda set off an eternal winter – everywhere."

"Everywhere?" Even in her shocked state, a small part of her found this impressive, even if it was a bit of an exaggeration.

"Well it's okay – you can just unfreeze it." She stated this so _simply_, as if with a wave of her arm Elsa could return the weather to normal. What had been merely cold air as a result of her inner turmoil began to coalesce into falling snow, which began to swirl around her.

"No I can't! I – I don't know how!" The snow was falling harder now, the wind picking up in the room. She dimly heard footfalls downstairs, a male voice calling out for her sister, but it didn't register. All that concerned her was a single thought: _nowhere is safe._ The awful realization began to come upon Elsa that no matter where she ran to, however far she travelled from Anna, her sister would still be in danger. The intensity of the storm inside was reflected in the room, snow compacting into ice, forming a veritable hurricane of freezing particles whipping around her. She became so agitated that, hearing Anna repeat for the umpteenth time that they could fix this together – _as if_ – she drew the cold within herself and let it out in a ring of ice shooting out from her. _Please, Anna, just leave. Stay safe._ As she tried to deal with the new reality she found herself in, that her sister would never be safe, Elsa heard a quiet moan accompanying a thud. She gasped and whipped around to find Anna in a heap on the ground. _What have I done?_

A man – _where does she keep finding them?_ – accompanied by Olaf hurried into the room, grabbing Anna's arm and pulling her up. "Anna!" he cried, "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," she responded, panting. "I'm fine." The look she gave Elsa hurt like nothing had before. Elsa knew in that moment that she had lost her sister, perhaps forever.

"Who's this? Wait – i-i-it doesn't matter. Just – you have to go." _Please, leave now!_ The ice in her sanctum began to darken, reflecting the turmoil inside of the queen. _Don't make me have to force you to leave. _

Anna refused. In response, Elsa created a golem of snow that was terrifying even to her. _Anna, for your safety, please don't come back, and stay away._ The creature grabbed the trio and took them downstairs. Elsa collapsed.

_Flash_

These thoughts rushed through the queen's head as she watched the band of soldiers approach her castle. _Why are they here? Is it because of Anna?_ Slowly the dark features of their heads began to resolve into faces. Her eyes narrowed as Elsa recognized the one in the lead being the man who – _Christ_ – had asked to marry Anna. Immediately she disliked this squad of men, if for no other reason than because he was with them. _What was his name? Ansel? Hans? Ah, what the hell does it matter._

After Anna had been thrown out earlier that day, Elsa had retreated farther within herself than she had at any point since she had struck her sister that night all those years ago. She remembered the words of the troll that night. _"You're lucky it wasn't her heart. The heart isn't so easily changed."_ A bolt of fear shot through her chest. _Did I – _She couldn't even finish the thought. She screamed in frustration, her anger reflecting into the castle, forming spikes on the walls, darkening the color of the ice to a dull red. Those words, the mantra taught by her father in her childhood to conceal, not feel, were useless in the face of such fear and fury. _Years I spent apart from her, and this, _this_ is what she receives? A wound not even the trolls can heal?_ Elsa wanted to smash something, _everything_, and still she knew it would not bring her sister back. Her rage was so great that the roof of her construct shook, a tower breaking off at a jagged angle, falling to the rocks far below to be dashed to pieces. At the mighty crack that resonated through the rooms, Elsa came back to herself. Feeling helpless yet again, she simply sank to her knees and cried. 

Hans approached the castle slowly, looking for any sign of the queen. He dismounted near the base of the bridge, saying "We are here for Queen Elsa. No harm is to come to her; bring her to me when you find her." The men nodded in understanding, two looking especially eager. Suddenly, the pile of snow-covered rocks by the bridge stood up, revealing itself as a huge golem. A fusillade of spears and bolts was shot at the monster, without effect save to piss the thing off. Icy spikes arose on every surface of the beast accompanied by claws and fangs, and an unearthly blue glow in its eyes. The two men dashed under the golem, rushing up to the doors above. _Goddammit! They better not fuck this up!_ Hans knew he had to act quickly if he wanted the queen alive. He rushed towards the icy beast and sliced its leg off. Unbalanced, it roared and fell into the chasm below. _That ought to slow the fucker down._ He sprinted up the stairs, hoping to still reach and capture the queen. 

Elsa had slipped inside the entrance as the soldiers approached. When the two men broke off from the rest, her eyes widened and she closed the door, making the way up to her sanctum. She reached it, panting from having run all the way up those stairs. _There's gotta be a better way._ Hearing footsteps nearing her, she turned. One had already drawn a bead on her with his crossbow. She had little time. She threw up her arms in a defensive gesture, unwittingly creating a shield of ice in front of her as the bolt was loosed. She looked up to find a bolt stopped mere inches from her face, and the two assassins circling around to get a clear shot. In that instant, something snapped within the queen. _First he seeks to marry my sister, then sends men to kill me?_ Elsa wasn't stupid. She knew what that man wanted, the same as all men want: power. _Well somebody is going to fucking die today!_ Even thinking that word shocked her; she never cursed, only hearing profanities when a serving boy dropped a tray of food or other chance mishaps around the castle. Her gaze hardened, her eyes beginning to faintly give off an icy blue tinge, much like her golem. She shut the doors to the room with a flick of her wrist, not even looking, keeping her gaze on the crossbowmen. Elsa proceeded to replace the doors with a wall of ice, thereby preventing any others from reaching the two men.

As the crossbows were aimed at her again, Elsa decided they were going to die. Perhaps they had family back home. Perhaps this was the only job they could find, and needed the money. She didn't care. They had tried to kill her, tried and failed. She wouldn't. _Kill or be killed. _It was as simple as that. These men would not stop trying to end her life, and she was the only one preventing them from doing so. Elsa felt almost detached from her body now, feeling the ice surge through her. The man who had shouldered his weapon first was the first to feel her wrath, the culmination of the rage within her at the situation she was in. She flung her arm at him, and he was instantly impaled with spikes. Arms and legs were pinned to the wall by the icicles, with more piercing his abdomen and lungs. One had torn through his throat, producing a fist-sized hole in it that his labored breathing wheezed through. She heard bones break at the impact; the man hadn't even had time to scream before his vocal cords had been torn out. His eyes displayed sheer terror for an instant before they glazed over and his head fell against the icicle in his neck with a clink, a decidedly cheery sound for the blood that coated it. Blood was already smearing the icicles and floor beneath him, freezing almost instantaneously only to be covered by more. Flecks had flown against the wall, creating a gruesome display on the wall behind him that reflected the tremendous pain he had surely felt in his last moment on the earth.

As she turned her fearsome gaze to the second man, he began to back up, beginning to realize his monstrous mistake. _Too late._ She grimly smiled, or rather bared her teeth in a feral snarl, as a wolf does with a gore-soaked muzzle from a kill. She cast her arms up again, forming walls of ice around the man, enclosing him completely. She then filled in all the empty space with ice, entombing him with the frozen matter. She saw absolute horror on the man's face when he realized his fate, but that was all he could do. Elsa turned away from the man in disgust before compacting the ice into a space the size of a coffin and sending it off the balcony into the abyss below. _Straight into hell, with any sort of luck._


	2. Chapter 2

**One follower! Hell yeah! Onward with the story; I hope to be updating it once a week or so if you were wondering. ****Possibly more often if I get a burst of motivation or creativity. ****Fair warning, there's a quasi-history lesson in the middle of it.**

Following his largest man up the stairs, Hans felt something akin to fear. _If she can create a monster such as that, what else can this fucking witch conjure up?_ Upon reaching the top, he stopped. The prince narrowed his eyes at the sight before him. The stairs terminated into a smooth wall that was clearly once a set of doors. _What the fuck else could it be? Seriously, who the hell designs a castle and makes a staircase to nowhere?_ The theory was confirmed when he heard faint noises coming from the other side of the ice. They sounded like – _screaming? The fuck's going on in there?_ He drew in a breath, ran his fingers through his auburn hair, and let it out, puffing up his cheeks in the process.

"Men," he commanded, "we're going to do our damndest to get through this wall and get our men back." _Even if I've never seen those two before in my life._ His men didn't even bother letting out a war cry in the face of such a task, setting to the task with a will. They chipped away at the wall with their weapons, loosing spears from a distance and hacking at it with swords and axes. The soldiers all noticed the sounds had died, being replaced by an eerie silence. Their progress slowed, reflecting their unease; they had scarcely made a dent in the wall, rather simply scratching at the surface of the ice. Suddenly, all the imperfections the men had caused were repaired and the wall itself began to grow towards them. _Goddammit. _"All right, boys, we did our best."

They all filed down the stairs, in no hurry since the momentum of the wall was maybe a few inches a minute at best. When the squad exited the castle, they had to ease their way across the bridge, since the ice golem had taken a significant chunk of it with it in its fall into the abyss, and it seemed precarious. Hans mounted his horse with his usual flourish, then waited impatiently for the rest of his men to gain their saddles. As he waited, he looked at the white landscape surrounding him. He saw faint depressions in the ground that could have been footprints, but he was unsure. _Did Anna make it up here? Did she talk to that bitch?_ If she had, that would be detrimental to his plans. He needed to keep the two apart, separate them, turn Anna against her sister if possible since there was no way in hell he would get near Elsa. _I'll deal with that shit _if_ and _when_ it comes up. _

His last man, a slightly rotund foreigner named Giorgio was at last astride his horse, and Hans began riding off, not looking behind him to see if his soldiers were following. They all did, to a man. As he heard the creaking of leather and jangle of metal on metal, a corner of his mouth turned up. He was in control. The queen would remain in her self-imposed exile, presenting no immediate threat to his eventual rule, and Anna was still hopelessly in love with him. It was working.

* * *

Kristoff trudged away from the gate slowly. Immediately after giving Anna to the royal house, he began questioning his actions. _Should I have _really _just done that?_ He shook his head, saying out loud, "No – it is what Anna wants." Sven snorted at that. _Ah, shut up, you brute._ Kristoff looked around at the snow and ice, feeling a sense of hopelessness. _Now what?_ As far as he could tell, there wasn't an end to this freak weather in sight. That, however, took a backseat toward his feelings towards Anna. For having met the girl less than 24 hours before, he was already attracted to her. _Her light blue eyes, her freckles, her gorgeous hair –_ His train of thought was cut off with Sven's huff of amusement. _Was I thinking that out loud?_ "What – are you arguing with me?" He smiled faintly at his furry friend. That smile disappeared as he again thought of the situation they were all in. "What are we going to do, Sven?" he sighed. The reindeer lowed in response.

By this time, the duo had reached the outskirts of the town. The village of Arendelle – the capital city and the kingdom sharing the same name – followed the lay of the land. Closer to the shore, the buildings and houses were spread out as the terrain allowed, but the heights surrounding the fjord prevented any construction on the slopes. Therefore, the majority of the buildings – houses, mostly, were built in the valley that led away from the water. About a quarter of a mile from where the forest began, a wall had been built. This wall had a thick stone base and a wooden palisade twenty feet high, with seventeen towers, spaced evenly over the course of the structure, each guarding a gate. The wall was about five miles in length. It had been built by Elsa and Anna's grandfather, King Aren the Great. He was younger than Anna, only about 16, when his parents were killed by a Weselton band of soldiers. They were not yet the ruling family, and the castle and the surrounding village was under the control of a local governor who owed his allegiance to the King of Weselton, the duke's father. Aren had led an uprising of the townsfolk, who were angered by the high taxes of the Weseltons and conscription practices for their wars in far off places. It was in the midst of one of these wars – no one knew for sure which one, there were so many – that Aren and his army of shopkeepers, farmers, and peasants stormed Weselton. They forced the king to relinquish control of their land, which was a sizeable portion of the Norwegian landscape. He reluctantly agreed; the attack had come so swiftly that his armies abroad were unaware of the upheaval back in their homeland. Upon his return, Aren was crowned by the bishop as King of Arendelle. He immediately began to fortify his new kingdom, building up the navy and creating defensive structures around the region. The largest and most impressive of these was the wall. Over the course of a year, and completely without taxes but rather through the efforts and supplies volunteered by the townspeople, it was completed to an extent beyond the king's expectations. Originally, King Aren had envisioned a defensive structure that would merely slow an advancing force so the militia and castle soldiers could be marshalled, but this wall would halt that same force for some time.

Just beyond the wall was an old goat path that farmers used to take their livestock to the market. It meandered for three miles to the end of the fjord, then another four until it reached a junction just across the water from the castle. There, it crossed the Northern Road, which paralleled the Royal Road which lay to the south across the fjord. Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna lay along this road, which slowly faded into nothingness as it wound its way further and further from civilization. It was at this junction that Kristoff found himself a little over an hour after leaving the gates of the castle. In his daze, he hardly noticed the time had passed; he only realized how far he had travelled when he reached the junction. _That was fast._ Suddenly, he heard a loud crash come from the city. He whirled around to see a cloud of snow erupting from a collapsed building in town. His brown eyes widened in fear. _Anna! No – she wouldn't have been in it. How do you know? She's in the castle, idiot! What's keeping the castle from collapsing? Because it's made of stone? _Unconsciously, he had begun to take short steps back to Arendelle, which sped up into a run. _There is no way Hans can save her. If true love is required, I refuse to believe that man has it in him. I'll have to kiss her myself._ He paused mentally, still churning his legs. _Do I love this girl? Yes. I would do anything for her. _Seeing Sven approach, galloping, on his right, he swung himself onto the reindeer's back, hurtling towards the castle and Anna.

* * *

Hans leaned into Anna, holding her chin in one gloved hand. Thoughts were racing through his mind. _I am so fucking close! _Months of preparation had led to this moment. _The queen is locked away up on North Mountain, and Anna herself is about to be frozen solid, leaving me – _me! – _as the sole royalty left in Arendelle! _He could hardly wait to break the girl's heart – _it's all for the best, my dear._

"Oh, Anna, if only there was someone out there who loved you." He stated this so simply, and relished the look on the girl's face. Shock, sadness, weakness, as if her heart was shutting down – _which it was!_ "What?" He heard the quiet gasp as he moved around the room. Hans began to explain his whole strategy, his grandiose scheme as he closed the curtains. _No witnesses._ He started from the beginning, describing his life with his twelve older brothers, his disappointment when he realized there was little to no chance of ever being king. _Of course, I could always kill them off_, but even for him that was dark. As the prince pontificated on, he extinguished the candle, moving over to the fire. The candle was more of a symbolic gesture; it gave off only a little heat, but the hope it crushed was much more significant. Anna gazed at him with hurt in her eyes, and anger. _I didn't think she had it in her; no matter. She will be dead soon enough._ Hans continued to explain his plan, how it had changed with Elsa's flight to the North Mountain. It would have been preferable of course for the bitch to have died, but given present circumstances, that was unlikely. And now that Anna was in the process of dying, it was even better!

The prince grabbed the pitcher of tea, pouring it over the flames in the fireplace, making sure to extinguish all traces of heat. Having done that, he began walking towards the door.

"You won't get away with this," Anna said in a weak, shivering voice. Hans smiled down at her warmly, full of confidence.

"Oh, I already have." With that, he stepped out of the room, closing and locking the door behind him. He sighed with content, and continued on to the dining hall, where he knew the other foreign royalty had gathered. The prince paused by a window to observe the storm going on outside. It wasn't a storm per se, rather more of a heavy, heavy snowfall. Already a house had collapsed from the weight of the frozen precipitation. Houses in this climate were built to withstand such weather; the one in question had been built poorly, admittedly, but it was all the same disconcerting for Hans. _This fucking weather! It's got to end sooner or later._ Of course, that meant dealing with the queen, which he was most assuredly not looking forward to. He sighed, somewhat angrily this time, then continued down the hall towards more pressing matters than sightseeing.

As Hans approached the dining hall, he heard the Duke of Weselton's whining voice. _Someone ought to shut that bastard up. So fucking annoying._ He put on a sad face – _need to keep up appearances; for a while, at least. _Opening the door slowly, he walked in, head down-turned. The talking ceased at his entrance – _thank God! ̶_ and he took a seat at the head of the table. With as much false emotion in his voice as he could muster without breaking his composure, he stated "Princess Anna is – dead."

The royalty all gasped at his announcement. Questions and bewildered statements flew around the room. "She was killed – by Queen Elsa." Hans was enjoying himself immensely. All his plans were coming to fruition in this instant. He could see himself, in his mind's eye, sitting on the throne just a few rooms down, the royal crown sitting on his head. Dignitaries of far-off kingdoms and nations would come and recognize his reign. His brothers, even, from the Southern Isles, would have to see what "the runt" had accomplished. Local vassals would state their allegiance to him – _King_ Hans of Arendelle. Eventually, he would marry a beautiful woman, possibly a princess of a neighboring kingdom or duchy, and stage another takeover as he had of Arendelle. _The whole fucking world is at my feet._ At that moment, Hans knew nothing could stop him.

The duke and the other dignitaries all gasped at this revelation. The white-haired man shook his head, saying "Her own sister." _Now I won't have nearly enough trouble gathering support to march on the castle._ Hans took a couple more shaky breaths, appearing to be steadying himself to the gathered observers, before continuing the charade. "At least we got to say our marriage vows," he continued, taking note of the wide, sympathetic eyes all around him, "before she died in my arms." He capped it off by slumping down into the chair in feigned sorrow. Hans was elated. _Soon I will begin to plan the coronation, ball, and all that fucking hoopla. There will of course be a suitable period of mourning for my dear Anna, accompanied by a beautiful funeral. Then my work can begin in earnest._ Hans allowed himself a brief grin at all the possibilities that lay before him now. _Nothing's in my fucking way._

* * *

After making it into the castle, Olaf found it much easier to walk about. _There's so much less _wind_ – the wind makes it so hard to walk, and the snow blows in my eyes, and I have to squint to see, but when I squint my nose starts to wiggle around so I have to hold it, and then sometimes it just comes off which is a HUGE problem, so I have to chase it, and –_ he cut himself off. _I wonder where Sven and Sven got off to._ _They've got to be in here somewhere._ _Maybe by the stables? There's probably reindeer in there! _Olaf gasped. _Maybe there's more Svens! Maybe more noses too! _The snowman chortled at the thought.

When Olaf had burst unannounced into the family's home, they had immediately thrown him back out into the street. Dazed, he wandered around for a bit before realizing he was walking towards the castle. _That's got to be where Sven and Sven and Anna went! __I d__on't know wh__y__those talking rock love experts called Sven Kristoff. Sven is a much better name__. Man, those things are fun – _Olaf decided to go back and visit them when he could. _First things first though. _The snowman didn't realize that he had reached the castle until he ran into it, pushing his nose back through his head. _WOW that's a shock!_ He backed up and looked around for some sort of an entrance. _Maybe a door? Or a hole? Or a gap? Or a __gate? Or a – stop it Olaf. You need to get inside._ Olaf saw a door nearby and waddled happily over to it. He jumped up and grabbed at the handle, trying to open it with its weight. The door turned out to be locked, and his arm popped out of his body, still gripping the metal. Olaf gasped at the sight, then swiped at the wooden stick, grabbing it and sticking it back into his body with the same motion. _How am I going to get in? I need to open that door somehow, but it's locked. Maybe a key? Ooh – is there a key around here somewhere? Nah – it would be covered by snow by now. Think think think – ooh! Maybe someone would open if I knocked? Nah – it's too cold; the guards are probably all asleep in their warm beds by now. Mmm – warmth. I can't wait until summer, and warmth, and heat, and the sun, and beaches, and flowers, and bees, and – no, stop it Olaf! _He scratched his nose as he did when in deep thought. Suddenly an idea came to him. _Lockpick! _The snowman chortled at the idea. He popped his nose out of his face, shoving the carrot into the keyhole beneath the handle. Olaf rattled the appendige around in the hole a few times, then jumped up again and grabbed the handle. It turned with a _click. Bingo! Was his name-o – no! Don't get distracted!_ Grabbing his nose, he continued on inside the castle walls. Once he had crossed the courtyard, he entered the ground floor of the castle through a window that led into a room full of paintings. _Ooh – pretty colors! _Olaf gasped. _Summer! Paintings of summer! _For once, he wasn't distracted. _I'll get back to them later. _Once again filled with a sense of determination, he continued on, hardening his features into a countenance somewhat resembling seriousness.

The little snowman wandered through the halls, waddling happily around the building. As he passed a door, though, he thought he heard quiet sobbing. _Hmm. I wonder what that is._ He tried the door; again, his arm popped out. _That is annoying. I need to get Elsa to freeze this in its socket. I wonder where Elsa is right now – is she still up in her castle? She needs to come down sometime. I mean, where does she get food from? Does she sleep there? How about – OLAF! _He looked up at the door, giving a goofy giggle as he remembered how to get through the obstacle. Once he had unlocked the door with his nose, it swung open. He hopped up to grab the carrot, then stuck it back into his face, gazing into the dark room beyond. Olaf could barely see; all he could make out was a huddled form near the door - "Anna!" he gasped. Her hair was bleached white, and she wasn't moving. Looking around rapidly, the snowman found the fireplace. _What if – yes! Olaf you are a genius! Heat! Heat-heat-heat-heat-heat-heat – Olaf, calm yourself!_ Grabbing some wood that had fallen out of the iron grate, he tossed it all on, accidentally tossing his arm in as well. Seeing that, he gasped and grabbed it, setting it back in its proper place with a grin. Olaf found a match nearby and snatched it up, scraping it against the brick bottom of the fireplace. He held it against the wood, and – Olaf's mouth dropped open with a happy smile.

"Olaf, get away from there!" _Why? This is AMAZING!_

"Whoa! So this is heat! I love it!" He stared, entranced, stretching his wooden arms towards the fire. _It's so beautiful! It dances, like the lights in the sky, but it's red, and orange, and yellow, not the greens and blues and purples at night. These colors really wouldn't go well with snow. Blech. But it's so warm too! _Suddenly an arm caught fire. "Ooh but don't touch it!" he warned Anna. _She needs to know that danger!_ He rushed toward her, picking her up and helping her over toward the warmth of the fireplace. _She's really heavy! Why are people so heavy? I wonder how heavy Sven is? And I wonder how heavy Sven is? That furry guy has got to be really heavy! Maybe he should lay off the carrots. Why does he keep trying to eat my nose? Olaf, stay focused!_

"So... where's Hans? What happened to your kiss?" Olaf was confused. _Shouldn't that have saved her? Did she find Hans? Maybe Hans wasn't here. But where else would he be? _Anna cut off his mental rambling.

"I was w-wrong about him," she said with a shiver, drawing her cloak around herself. Olaf was sad. _So it wasn't true love?_ "It wasn't true love." _I was right! Wait – I shouldn't be happy about that. Bad Olaf!_

"But we ran all the way here!" _Now what?_

"Please, Olaf, you can't stay h-here," Anna said, glancing towards the fire. "You'll melt." _What's melting?_

"I am not leaving here until we find some other act of true love to save you." Thinking quickly, his mind couldn't come up with anything that fit the requirements. Olaf grabbed his feet in deep thought. _Still nothing. _He looked to Anna out of the corner of his eye. "You happen to have any ideas?"

"I don't even know what love is." _Ooh, I know this one!_

"That's okay, I do! Love is putting someone else's needs before yours," Olaf said, rearranging Anna's cloak around her shoulders. "Like, you know, how Kristoff brought you back here to Hans and left you forever." _Better use his lame name here so she understands. Hey that rhymed! _He continued stroking Anna's arm, smoothing the fabric.

"Kristoff loves me?" She asked him with wide eyes. _Duh!_

"Wow, you really don't know anything about love, do you?" He moved around to Anna's front, closer to the fire. It was getting seriously warm in there, and his whole body felt mushy. Suddenly, his nose slipped down his face. Unfazed, Olaf pushed it back up with his hand. _What – what's going on here. Oh, wait a minute – I must be melting! Okay._

Seeing this, Anna cried out "Olaf, you're melting!" _So?_

"Some people are worth melting for." At this, the entire right side of the snowman's face began sliding down, dragging his eyes, nose, and strands of stick-hair with it. He grabbed at his head, holding it up with his arms. _That could be problematic._ "Just maybe not right this second!" The window suddenly swung open with a clatter, letting freezing cold air into the warm room. Seeing Anna shiver suddenly and huddle up tightly, he shouted, "Don't worry, I've got it!" Olaf ran over to the window, wiggling his way up to the bench just below the panes. He closed one quickly, looking back at Anna and said, "We're gonna get through thi-"

As he was saying that, he looked out the window. He saw movement out in the distance. _Huh. Wonder what that could be – who could be crazy enough to be out in this weather?_ "Oh, wait, hang on, I'm getting something." He broke off a nearby icicle – _that's convenient_ – then bit off the pointy part and put the skinny end up to his eye. He gasped, dropping the ice chunk out of his mouth. "It's Kristoff and Sven!" _Again, had to use the lame name. That still rhymes!_ "They're coming back this way!" _Wait – why?_

"They-they are?" Anna managed.

"Wow. He's really moving fast." Olaf turned back to Anna. "I guess I was wrong. I guess Kristoff doesn't love you enough to leave you behind." He waggled his tooth. _That icicle was really hard. Why did I bite it? Owie. Kinda tasted good though. _

"Help me up, Olaf. Please." Anna began to drag herself up. _What's she doing? She has to stay by the fire and be warm!_

"No no no no no!" The snowman flipped himself over the couch. "You need to stay by the fire and keep warm!" he commanded.

"I need to get to Kristoff," Anna explained. _That didn't explain anything._

"Why?" Suddenly everything clicked for Olaf. Well, at least one thing did. _I get it! I get it I get it I get it I get I get it – stop!_ He gasped. "Ooh, I know why!" the snowman exclaimed breathily. "There's your act of true love right there! Riding across the fjords like a valiant pungent reindeer king! Come on!" He took Anna's hand and led her out of the room.

"Wait, Olaf – Hans, he-he's in the castle," Anna said. _Uh-oh. Bad news. _

"That's okay," Olaf said. "I know how to get out." Somehow, the little snowman remembered the path he took to the room the princess had been locked in. As he walked down the hall, he thought he heard people talking. _Well, it is a castle, there are people in it – wait a minute. _He looked and saw a tall auburn-haired man with bushy sideburns walking down a hall parallel to the one they were in. Olaf gasped and ducked back behind the corner, pulling Anna with him. Anna gasped and shivered. _She is really cold – we need to move fast!_ Steeling himself, he grabbed Anna's hand firmly and ran as fast as his stubby legs allowed him to towards the door he had used to get into the castle, thoughts of the auburn-haired man put out of his head in the excitement.

* * *

Hans thought he heard something in the eastern corridor; he turned his head and saw nothing. _Must be the wind or the snow. Fucking weather._ As he was turning his head back to continue on his way, he saw a white-haired girl being led by a short white creature. _What the fuck did I just witness?_ The blood suddenly drained out of his face. _W-was that – _he couldn't even finish his thought. Anger and determination set in. _No fucking way. This is not going to happen._ He stalked down the hall that intersected with the one he had seen the duo in. Turning the corner, he saw the doors to the painting room just closing. _Not fucking happening._ Hans began to run after the two, refusing to believe that all his plans were in jeopardy _BECAUSE OF SOME FUCKING LIVING FUCKING SNOWMAN!_

* * *

Kristoff was pushing Sven as hard as he thought Sven could take, and then some. The reindeer galloped across the fjord, leaping across frozen obstacles along the way. He could see the castle growing bigger – _I'm getting closer!_ Images of Anna came to his mind – her laughing, her determined face when she nailed that wolf with the lute, the shocked look she had when she had hit Kristoff in the head with the bag of carrots, her gorgeous blue eyes – _you can't stop thinking about her eyes, can you? _As they traveled on, Kristoff began to make out a trio of black dots moving across the ice. _What in the hell?_ The dots slowly grew larger and larger as Sven ran closer. _Oh my God – it's Anna! And Olaf! Who's that man behind her? _His eyes narrowed as he realized that must be Hans. Kristoff gasped as the man drew a sword from his hip on the run, closing the distance to the girl and the snowman. He urged the reindeer on, kicking him even, coaxing every bit of speed out of Sven as possible. _I have to make it! If anything happens to Anna I'll never forgive myself!_

As Kristoff approached the trio, he thought quickly. There were about fifty yards left between Anna and Hans, and that number was shrinking rapidly. _There's no other way._ Without hesitation, he turned Sven slightly, angling him so their path would intersect with that of the prince. The auburn-haired man didn't even notice them coming. At the last instant, Anna heard the pounding of hooves to her left, and looked. Kristoff looked into the girl's eyes, seeing snowflakes beginning to trace themselves on her cheeks. _No! I can't be late!_ He leapt off his mount, expertly landing on his feet. Unable to stop himself, Kristoff slid a good twenty yards, grabbing Anna's hand on the way. Her eyes widened in shock at the whole situation, but the man noticed only her frozen extremities. It was beautiful in a way, _but can't compare to the beauty right in front of me._ He pulled the princess into a tight embrace. It was the Anna who leaned in for the kiss, but Kristoff who initiated it, pressing their lips together tightly. _Please, please let this work._ As the two kissed, they heard a crash behind them but scarcely noticed.

* * *

_Wh-what's happening?_ Anna had felt so cold for so long – ages, it seemed – that this new sensation was almost foreign. She could almost feel her systems shutting down, freezing solid as Kristoff grabbed her and kissed her. Suddenly, she was no longer cold. Well, she was, but it was more as if she was floating above it, separated from the sensation. Warmth began to well up in her heart, coming from the contact she shared with the man. It traveled through her body to her extremities, heating up everything in its path. She could feel rather than see the effect it had on her hair; she spared a second to look at a braid of hers. It had returned to its natural color. Anna smiled against Kristoff's lips. He pulled away at the sensation, smiling back at her. _He loves me._ The simple realization made her heart feel warm all over again. She thought back to the words of Grand Pabbie: _only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart._ Anna smiled warmly at her savior. Suddenly, a lowing sound coming from behind Kristoff interrupted the moment. _Sven!_ She had forgotten about him. In her about-to-freeze state, it had barely registered, but she had seen the reindeer crash into Hans just as the prince had turned, sword in hand.

Kristoff whirled around at his best friend's noise. "SVEN!" He cried out. The reindeer's face was coated in blood. As he slowly looked at his friend, the extent of his wound was revealed. Hans' sword had sliced the right side of Sven's face, cutting the cheek off completely and nicking the eye. The reindeer's ear lay in a puddle of blood on the ice, the stump on his head twitching. The reindeer lowed again, knees trembling, until he dropped to the ground. The burly man raced over to his partner's side, weeping. "Sven! Please, no, no, Sven!" Anna simply stood there, speechless. _What can I possibly say?_ She slowly walked over to behind Kristoff, laying a hand on his back. He stood up at the touch, ripping off a sleeve. The man tore the sleeve lengthwise, using the cloth to bandage the reindeer's face to the best of his ability. He turned to Anna, voice eerily calm, saying, "We need to get him to a doctor as soon as possible." _Of course._

A faint noise from behind them made the two look. _And we thought Sven was bad. _Prince Hans of the Southern Isles lay on the ice, immobile. His sword was yards away; it had skidded from his grip immediately after the impact with the charging reindeer. Puncture wounds covered his body, blood soaking his white clothes. His eyes had rolled up into his head. It was probably for the best that he had passed out. His left leg was twisted at an unnatural angle, and his arm was obviously broken. "Kristoff..." Anna said, turning from the gruesome sight.

"Wha – no. No way. Anna, the man tried to _kill _y-" Anna cut him off.

"Kristoff, please." She hated seeing anyone in pain, even if it was one as evil as Hans. "Do it for me."

At that, she saw his resistance break. "Alright," he sighed. Kristoff growled, narrowing his eyes, and stalked over to the wounded prince. He knelt next to the body, roughly ripping the coat off of his body. Anna winced at the obvious sound of bone grating against bone, but just tightened her lips, saying nothing. She walked over to Sven, wrapping her arms around the reindeer, holding him tightly. Upon unbuttoning the man's shirt by flinging it open, buttons flying, the two saw the full extent of Hans' wounds. Dark, almost black blood welled up from a hole in his abdomen. Kristoff dealt with this first; using a sleeve from the prince's shirt, he stuffed the cloth into the injury. He quickly wrapped a length of material around his stomach, holding the bandage in place. Next, he turned his attention to the arm. Spying a dinghy frozen in the ice nearby, he walked over and tore off a plank of wood. Using two more strips of the sleeve, he improvised a splint. "That's as much as I can do here; we'll have to take him back into town for a doctor. But we need to see to Sven first." Anna had no objections.

Using more wood from the dinghy, Kristoff created a makeshift sled. He grabbed the ropes still attached to the planks, took a deep breath, then lifted up. He began to drag the still unmoving body of the prince across the ice, following Sven's unsteady steps. Anna walked by Sven on his good left side, with a comforting hand on his muscled shoulder. Olaf, who had spun for some time after Kristoff grabbed Anna, came waddling up behind the group. "Sven! Are you okay?" The reindeer turned to his right toward the voice of the snowman; the first Olaf saw of his face was the shredded skin by his ear, then the exposed back teeth, and finally the entirety of the wound. He stopped and gasped. "SVEN!" The reindeer moaned deeply, then turned back forward and continued on towards the castle.

"Wh-what happened?" the snowman asked Anna, tugging on her skirt. She looked straight ahead, unshed tears glistening in her eyes.

"Hans," she said darkly, and no more.

"Well, at least you guys are okay!" he said. The princess gave a wry grin; nothing could keep Olaf's spirits down for long. Kristoff grunted behind them, pulling a rope up higher on his shoulder to be more comfortable. "Remind me why we're carrying this son of a – excuse me, this _prince_ back with us?" he spat out.

"Because it's the right thing to do," Anna responded. _It might help our relations with the Southern Isles, especially with all the confusion that's going on._ She was slowly beginning to think as a monarch. _In Elsa's absence, I guess that's what I am. Wait – would I be a queen or still a princess? Something between the two? I don't know._ Probably in some ancient legal book in the library there would be a code that dealt with the situation they were in.

When the group reached the castle walls, the guards opened them up, recognizing the princess. Kristoff pulled Hans over to the doors of the castle itself, then dropped the sled. "They can take him from here," he said.

Anna watched him rush over to Sven, supporting him as he could as they walked over to the stables. "The doctor's in here, right?" he asked.

Anna, still somewhat dazed over everything, answered with "What? Oh, yes – for horses. They ought to be right inside that entrance, second room on the left." _Get yourself together! People are relying on you._ She shook herself briefly, then walked over to the main doors of the castle. They were already open, and Gerda and Kai were helping the royal doctor lift the sled that bore Hans. Not wanting to get too involved with that process, she stayed outside as the doors shut. The courtyard was now empty except for the two frozen fountains in the middle and the soldiers on the wall. A trail of blood marked the path Hans had been dragged on, changing from a thick line to uneven patches of red. Anna sighed. _Where is Elsa? She would know what to do about this._ But she knew exactly where her sister was: locked up on the North Mountain in her palace of ice. _Elsa, please. We need you._

* * *

Elsa at that moment was looking out over her balcony in the direction of Arendelle. Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of all she had done. _I just wanted to keep people safe. To keep _her_ safe. And I failed._ With a sob, she withdrew back into her creation, closing the doors behind her.

**Okay writing Olaf was hard, trying to get into his head and all. I think I did a decent job; let me know what you think. I'm trying to get these chapters to be longer than the first one.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Apologies for the late update. SO I just realized I heisted the title of this from some book by a certain Donna Hatch. My bad; I don't own that either if anyone's seeking clarification. Anyways, now the movie's over! This has already taken a couple twists I hadn't imagined it to take, but I'm trying to keep the beast under control. The next couple chapters will take place in the same chunk of time, à la Lord of the Rings. Thanks for the reviews/faves/follows guys! Onward!**

Elsa watched the soldiers travel down the mountain from her ruined balcony. The adrenaline from the fight with the two assassins had worn off quickly, leaving her in awe of what she had done. Some of it was wonder at the strength and capabilities of her powers, but more was shock that she had actually killed two men. She ran through the events in her head over and over again. It had almost seemed that someone else, something primal had taken over in that moment of need. _I need to get this under control._ The thought struck her with urgency. Of course she had spent the past God knows how many years trying to command her powers, but she was focused hiding rather that making use of them. _People know now, so that's that. _One corner of Elsa's mouth twitched up in the ghost of a smile. _Might as well figure out what the hell I can do._ She already had some sense of what she could do based on the palace she had created with nothing more than an idea in her mind. Not to mention the man she had skewered and the other she had entombed.

Her first thought was to renovate the ice castle. _Seriously, I need more than one room in this place. I'm going to be up here for a while._ _I at least need a bed._ The queen looked around her sanctum, seeing the blood frozen on the floor. _What a mess._ _What if – _and suddenly her thoughts shot off in a completely different direction. _Anna._ With that, her calm collapsed, and she began to shake. _Oh my God – I just killed someone. I just _killed _someone._ She had held their lives in her hand, and she snuffed them. _What would Anna think? What would she _say_?_ Elsa thought of her sister. She didn't really know much of her younger sibling; this past –_ good Lord, was it just yesterday?_ – day was the first time she even seen her sister in years, the first time she had talked to her since the Accident. The two were essentially meeting each other for the first time all over again. _And you made one hell of a first impression._ She gritted her teeth, tears welling up in her blue eyes. _What else could you have done? _Elsa squeezed her eyes shut, forcing small drops of water out in the process. _The past is in the past. What is done is done._

_But is it? You hurt Anna today – physically and emotionally. She's your _sister_! How could you do that? _Elsa moaned. _It's for her own good – but she didn't seem concerned about that. She wanted to _help_ you, and you not only rejected her, but harmed her. Your Anna._ Anna's words, her tone echoed through her mind, haunting the queen: "I'm fine." _She wanted to help you, dammit!_ _What's there to help? I'm gone. I've hurt the one person who means anything to me. _Anna had to see that. _How, after years of pushing her away, shutting her out, does she still find it within herself to want to help me? _Me_!_ Elsa couldn't remember a day where her sister had not been at her door, sometimes asking, sometimes pleading for entrance. _And you shut her out._ _You don't deserve her._ She growled, noticing that a small blizzard had formed around her again. _Goddammit!_

With a titanic force of will, she laid the snow to rest. Doing so caused her to look over the gruesome scene that remained in the room. "Goddammit," she ground out. Elsa stalked towards the wall, shattering it with a gesture. As she continued onto the stairs, the room split from the rest of the icy structure and tumbled down the side of the mountain, causing a small avalanche in its wake. All evidence of the day's violence had been removed – excluding the massive crack in the palace and the damaged bridge. The queen observed these flaws, then sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes tightly. When she looked back up, the bridge had been repaired, and the castle restored to its former magnificence. _I need a bedroom._ She yawned at the thought, all the events of the day catching up to her. The sun was still high in the sky, but she had been up for almost three days; Elsa had not been able to sleep the night before the coronation because of her anxiety. She walked back up the stairs that she had gone down moments ago, continuing into her newly created bedroom. _I guess I'm getting better at this whole magic thing._ _I wish Anna could see this._ _Dammit._ Elsa fell back onto her bed, dissolving her elegant dress in the process. She had taken to the habit of sleeping naked, finding the climate in her room too warm for her liking when it wasn't covered in ice. The queen slid underneath the sheets, mind still racing. Her thoughts gravitated toward her sister; they did that more and more since she had seen her at the coronation. She wrenched her mind away from Anna, though. _Hopefully I never see her again._ Tears, uninhibited this time, flowed down her face. She fell asleep slowly, thoughts of her sister springing up, followed by a mental struggle to force them down. Finally, Elsa sank into unconsciousness. _Anna, why must you torture me so?_

* * *

_Anna, why must you torture me so?_ Elsa's sister was walking towards her slowly. As she drew nearer, the queen began to take note of every feature on her sister's face. Her blue eyes tinged with green. The freckles gracing her cheeks and nose. Her inviting pink lips. Elsa's breaths began to quicken. _What's happening?_ Her sister's hips were notceably moving underneath the green fabric of her dress. Those eyes were locked with hers as Anna walked to within a foot of Elsa. She was close enough to see her lashes, see each individual strand of that gorgeous red hair. Anna smirked.

"You're staring." Elsa drew a sharp breath in, snapping out of her reverie. "It's okay; I don't mind."

Elsa's eyes returned to her sister, travelling downwards. They traced the swell of her breasts, concealed beneath the black velvet – _do the freckles continue down there?_ – before continuing to her trim waist, where the color of the gown changed from black to green. She suddenly felt a finger on the bottom of her chin, lifting her head back up. Anna's eyes were focused intensely on hers, occasionally flitting over at some feature on her own face. Elsa reddened slightly at the scrutiny. Her sister leaned forward, her breath softly wafting over her cheek.

"Walk with me," the princess whispered. She gently took Elsa's hand, and began to walk out of the ballroom. A few eyes followed them, but only a few. Even those that did took no note of the royal sisters' departure. The queen dumbly followed behind her sister, her eyes moving with a will of their own: glancing down the muscles moving minutely in her shoulders, her back, the widening of her hips. _Where are we going?_ This thought was answered presently. The pair had travelled through a hallway – or rather, Anna had led, and Elsa had been drug along – into a small room graced with a fireplace on the left wall and a couch beyond it, facing them. The princess closed the door behind them, and locked it. _What?_ Then Anna brought those pink lips to her own, and her brain simply shut down.

"Elsa..." she moaned, "You don't know how long I've wanted to do this." Her sister's breath smelt of pine, her lips sinfully soft. Elsa didn't respond to the kiss; she hadn't moved at all. Her eyes were still open, unfocused. Anna stepped back, a worried look flashing over her face – and then the queen stepped forward, pushing her sister against the wall, kissing her passionately. She brought her hand up behind Anna's head, pressing their mouths tighter. Their mouths opened at the same instant, tongues darting out like snakes, twisting around, tasting each other. Elsa's hand dropped to her sister's shoulder, pushing one of the straps down her arm. Anna impatiently pulled her arm out, then returned her previous position, arms wrapped around her blonde sister. Small gasps and groans began to eminate from the two. Elsa moved her head lower and to the side, planting kisses on Anna's neck. Anna tilted her head back, resting it on the door behind her. She sighed as Elsa began kissing her collarbone, seeming to press her lips on each tiny freckle. Elsa paused in her adoration of her sister's body long enough to tug the black gown down her body, revealing her -

Elsa's eyes shot open, and she rocketed up. _What the FUCK was that!?_ She was breathing heavily and her face was flushed, and she took note of the dampness between her legs. Elsa swept her hands over her cheeks and through her hair, brushing it back behind her. _Okay. It was a dream._ _What the hell kind of dream though?_ Already, some details were beginning to escape her mind, but she remembered the feel – _what I think they would feel?_ – of her sister's lips on her own. Her tongue ran itself over her lips rapidly, remembering the taste – _for Chrissake, she's your SISTER!_ Elsa had never had feelings for anyone before, never felt attracted to anyone. She had always been protective of her sister, for that reason locking herself away, and respected her parents, but that was about it. This rush of emotions that entered her in the wake of the dream was completely foreign. _Goddammit goddammit goddammit!_She wanted to punch something, so she conjured up an ice plate and thrust her fist straight through it. Her eyes widened in shock and pain as her hand began to redden. _Maybe a thinner plate next time._ After placing her hand in an icy glove, she got out of bed. _Time to meet the – night? Day? Don't even know what time it is – I should get a clock up here._ As the queen stretched her body, a series of pops running up her spine, a dress materialized and formed itself to her body. She toyed with the icy fabric, twisting her leg through the slit on the right side around the back of the gown mindlessly. _Where did that dream come from?_ For as long as she could remember, even seeing Anna had been off limits. Her parents had forbidden her from seeing her, which inevitably led to her sneaking out at night. Only once had she seen the princess, and even that had only been a glimpse. Beyond that, though, the sole contact the two sisters had had been when Anna came to her door, asking for entrance. _Maybe that's why – I simply haven't seen her at all, and meeting her for pretty much the first time set this off._ Objectively speaking – _even without this swarm of emotions_ – her sister was an attractive woman.

Elsa allowed herself to entertain the notion for a brief moment. _What if. What if I acted upon this – whatever the hell it is. What would happen?_ _What would I even _do_?_ The more pressing question though – _what would _she _do?_ Assuming, of course, Anna wouldn't run away, never to return to Arendelle. _She would be safe at least._ One corner of her mouth twitched. _That's one way to take care of that problem. Tell her I have feelings for her._ Elsa slumped to the ground in defeat. _Who am I kidding. That's never going to happen._ In her agitation, her palace began to tinge itself red, and sharp spikes began growing from the walls. Deep knocking and cracking sounds echoed through the chambers as new spires and towers were formed; reflecting her state of mind, these new structures were awe-inspiring and beautiful in a dark, angular sense.

When she arose an hour later, after running countless scenarios through her head to no avail, she forced everything to the back of her skull. Elsa regained her regal calmness, not allowing any of the emotions still surging to the surface every now and again to show or take root. Her thought process had become as ice: cold, calculating, straightforward. _I need to deal with these issues._ First and foremost was to secure her person against any future attacks. _If two men can get through so easily, something is clearly wrong._ She created two snow golems this time, outfitting each of them with a mace of ice. Added onto the front of her castle was a keep of sorts, a small room between two sets of doors. Elsa built a series of locks into the doors themselves that would only be accessible by her or someone who somehow beat their way into their interior workings. _That should do for now._ _Of course, seeing that they couldn't defeat me last time with a handful of troops, they are sure to send up an entire platoon next time._ _Hell, someone down in Arendelle could decide I am a threat to the realm and command the local militias to augment the royal guard and send hundreds of soldiers my way._ She refused to even contemplate her sister coming up to visit her again, knowing that as soon as she did, her self-control would rapidly devolve again. _No. I am still the queen, even if I am in a self-imposed exile, and must conduct myself as such. _

* * *

In the three years since her parents' deaths, Gerda and Kai had been de facto rulers of the kingdom. The bishop had been the regent due to his elevated role in the kingdom, but those two had been the two who truly ruled, being as they were more involved in all manners of the nation's affairs. It was they who saw the urgent need to teach Elsa the ways of the royalty, the mannerisms and such. The young queen had seen this as a political and social extention of his command to "conceal, don't feel." A year before her coronation, she had begun attending committee meetings, discussing a variety of topics including the state of the economy and navy, foreign policy, border security, and others. One touchy subject was the question of what to do with the men in the north who had still not quite accepted the rule of the house of Aren. The King of Weselton had been content to let them be, provided of course they kept to themselves in their dark, cold forests, but King Aren had seen differently. He believed it was the duty of every Arendellian to contribute something, even if it was a little, to the kingdom in the belief this would bolster national pride. In the wealthier south, it had the desired affect, but in the north, it was disregarded entirely. The tax collectors who had ventured into the region had return empty-handed, bearing messages that warned of future strife if such action was tried again. King Adgar had returned to a live and let live policy, but Elsa agreed with her grandfather. In addition to meetings, Gerda and Kai instructed the queen on dining ettiquitte, proper greetings and social customs for the varying levels of society she was to deal with, and an in-depth history of Arendelle before and after King Aren's secession – mostly before. In short, it was everything but what she needed the most: guidance on her powers.

Even after her impressive displays over the past couple days, Elsa still felt the acute lack of such guidance. She felt as though her creations were crude, and she was missing the finesse of the detail work. _Over time it will come._ _I have all the time in the world now._ Suddenly, her stomach rumbled. _Ah shit._ She hadn't eaten since the ball, and was feeling pangs of hunger. In her rush to escape the castle, she hadn't brought any food. _Come on, woman. Think._ _Wait – didn't I pass some tavern or building on the way here?_ The queen had been in such a hurry that she had scarcely noticed her surroundings on her climb. _I think I did. I probably should check down there. Can I risk initiating human contact though?_ Her stomach growled loudly. _I don't have much of a choice._ Elsa's smooth brow furrowed in a frown as she considered what could happen at the encounter. _Just stay calm. Be a queen._ Drawing in a deep breath through partially pursed lips, she strode out the doors of the castle, leaving the two snow golems stationed in front of the bridge. She paused, then as an added precation removed the bridge entirely. _It's not like I can't make it again._ _Well, let's get this over with._

Elsa had been walking down the mountain for about thirty minutes before she let a short bark of a laugh. _Seriously? I can cast ice. What the hell am I doing, walking in snow?_ With no further ado, she created a sled pulled by an icy reindeer. Needing no verbal prompting from the queen, the beast leaped into action, smoothly pulling the sled behind it, a sheet of ice appearing behind it as it travelled that smoothed the ride for her. They entered the forest at a decent clip, the reindeer's hooves sinking lightly into the snow-covered ground. It was a young forest, the trees close together but not dense. They grew tall enough to where the light at the ground level was definitely dimmer than normal but not to ridiculous heights. Trees that fit that description could be found in the north of the kingdom.

A high, keening sound swept through the forest, whirling through the boughs of the trees. _Must be the wind._ Even as she reassured herself, she heard the cry again – coming from a different direction. Her eyes widened slightly, and she felt a shiver run down her spine. _Okay. Not the wind._ A howl, much closer, came from behind the sled. Then she spied a shadowy figure low to the ground fifty yards ahead. _Wolves._ Of course, she had never seen one, only read about them in stories and seen them in paintings. They were much more terrifying in real life. As each moment passed, more and more of the furred creatures appeared. Within seconds, they had surrounded the sled as so many points on a compass. Elsa felt herself slipping away from her body for the second time in as many days. As the subconscious warrior took control, the sled and reindeer disintegrated. A few of the wolves whined in confusion, but that was quickly swept away as they resumed their ferocious snarl. A thin smile graced Elsa's lips before she threw her right arm heavenward. Following the gesture was a wall of ice that separated her from the wolves on that side. As the limb dropped across her body, her gown was replaced by plate armor, angular and thin. A wolf leaped at her with a gaping maw, but she simply turned and smacked it across the face with her arm. _Definitely a few broken bones there._ Blood dripped from its ruined muzzle as it scurried off back into the woods.

The rest of the pack had slowly backed off, beginning to treat her as a more dangerous creature than they were used to hunting. In situations like this, they often hounded the animal to death, darting in and dealing sharp bites to their quarry. That could last days, but the wolves never let up during that time. Eventually, their prey collapsed from exhaustion, blood loss, and shock, and the beasts went in for the kill. Elsa knew this, having read about wolves in her childhood, having found the creatures fascinating. She went on the offensive. Not even bothering to close the distance with any single creature, she began throwing up spikes indiscriminately from the ground. Wolves unlucky enough to be caught in the path of these icicles were immediately impaled. Snarls of intimidation rapidly became howls of anguish and yelps of pain. The few that survived scampered off into the woods. She turned her attention to the dying animals around her, some transfixed as many as six feet above the ground. A few had already given up their spirits, but one in particular caught her attention. Its fur was singed on its face – what was left of it at least. A spike had plowed through its lower jaw and exited just behind its left eye, popping it out of its socket; the only part of the wolf's body that was touching the ground were its two hind legs, and those were only dangling. She gave a feral snarl that mirrored the one facing her, relishing in her victory.

* * *

After resting for a brief period of time and creating a tiny ball of ice that never shrank in her mouth to provide a constant trickle of refreshing water down her throat, Elsa continued on down the slope. Before she left, she had traded the armor that had been spattered with flecks of blood for her usual – as of late – icy gown. It wasn't too much further now; she could see a tendril of smoke a few miles off. The sun was beginning to set over the mountains off to the west that marked the far border of Arendelle. In no time, the queen was being transported downhill again on a sled. By the time she had reached the source of the smoke, it was dark. Constellations were splayed across the heavens, and the full moon was high in the night sky. Elsa had always loved the night: looking up and seeing eternity staring right back at her, the absolute beauty of even a single star. _I wonder if Anna's freckles match a pattern in that sky. Wait – what the hell?_ She forced that thought down. _Conceal, don't feel._ That saying had a curious way of applying to a variety of situations the queen found herself in.

The "restaurant" she thought she had seen earlier had actually been two separate buildings: a stable off to one side, and a cabin that proclaimed itself as "Wandering Oaken's Trading Post." Beneath that sign dangled another, almost as an afterthought: "And Sauna." She walked in, and rapidly took in her new surroundings. There weren't much. The entire store consisted of a couple shelves and some racks on the walls. One of the walls was occupied by a furry monstrosity, both in size and pattern. A door on the far end of the room was fogged up – _must be the sauna._ Suddenly the furry wall moved. And _talked_. "Yoo hoo! Big summer blowout!" The giant was speaking with a thick Scandanavian accent. _What in the hell is this?_ Elsa turned toward the voice, mouth hanging open. "Ooh! I think a girl was in here looking for you!" _Wait – what?_

"Wh-who?" Elsa stammered, caught in a rare moment of uncertainty of speech. "Could you describe her, sir?"

"Ooh, no need for 'sirs' here, miss. My name is Oaken. She was a young one, like you, with red hair. Seemed to be quite the talker."

"Anna?"

"Hmm. She never said her name, but she was with this stocky fellow who wanted some rope and carrots. Not really sure why. He was rather rude." _That must have been the man with her. He didn't _seem_ rude – of course, you only saw him for a few seconds._

"Would you have any food for sale?"

"Ooh, no good. I am sorry, but we are sold out of all our foodstuffs." _Damn. Now what? Come on, use that classically educated brain of yours._ _Ah – I got it._

"Um," _oh yeah – real elegant – _"would you have matches?"

"Yes, those we do have. That would be in our winter department" Oaken gestured over to a nearby wall, devoid of everything but a couple snowshoes laying on the ground in a corner. As she walked closer, Elsa realized that there actually was a wooden box of matches – no more than twenty.

"How much?" she asked the mountain.

"That? Ah, you can just have it. I have plenty more in storage. People always need matches, you know." _That was easy._

Elsa bid him a good night, and walked outside. She reentered the sled, and rode back up to the patch of woods that still contained the corpses of a score of wolves. Elsa had deconstructed the icicles upon her departure, with the result being bloody furry bodies littering the ground. She selected one that wasn't too horribly dismembered, then created a ripple behind it that pushed it away from the rest of the herd. Conjuring an icy woodsman complete with a razor-sharp axe, she set it to work chopping the nearest tree of decent height. She walked over to a dying sapling and broke off a few twigs, collecting the needles and sticks together. The queen then bored a hole in the ice until she reached the soil, and spread the needles and twigs down there. The entirety of Elsa's fire-creating knowledge came from books. She fervently hoped that it was as simple as the authors had stated. By this time, the woodsman had transformed the tree into a pile of split logs, and she had him bring an armful closer to the hole. She formed a square of the logs around the needles, then poked the sticks into the ground to form a sort of pyramid over the needles. Lighting a match on the rough surface of the box, she gave it a second for the wood of the match to catch, then laid it on the needles. They caught rapidly, burning brightly. Elsa quickly added more needles, then as the small sticks began to catch, more of those. After a minute or so, a cheery fire was burning in the hole, and after another minute, the logs had caught. The summer had been unusually dry, leading to an increased number of wildfires, so it only made sense that the wood had caught fire easily.

Once the fire was well and truly lit, giving off waves of heat that made Elsa feel uncomfortable, she got to work. She had set the woodsman to cutting out the wolf's entrails, not trusting herself to such a task. After the fur had been removed, she skewered the beast length-wise, an icy rod running just beneath its spine. The rod rose above the fire, wolf secured on it, with either end sitting in the forks of two shorter icy poles. It began to rotate slowly. _Thank God for magical ice, otherwise this would never work. _Elsa had moved herself back a significant distance, enough for the light to reach her, but not enough for too much heat to engulf her body. While she waited for the meat to cook – _can't honestly hope for much from a goddamn _wolf – she thought over everything that happened that day. It was a habit of hers to analyze all her actions, learn from the mistakes that were made, and identify things to continue. She focused on the fight with the pack of wolves she had encountered, replaying what she remembered in her mind. The details of the encounter were somewhat hazy, but she recollected enough to glean useful information from it.

The queen's pattern of attack had been sloppy. Instead of attacking specific targets, she had haphazardly thrown up icy spikes in such a multitude that the wolves were eventually impaled. _Effective, but crude._ As she thought about it more, she realized that she had been lucky that none of the beasts had made it through to her. Elsa had clad herself in armor, it was of course untested. _What I need is a method of attacking that makes certain that my enemy dies._ Suddenly she was struck with an idea. _Everything has water in it. What if..._ Spying a rabbit that was hopping by just out of the light of the fire, she turned her cool gaze upon it. _Sorry, but I need to test something._ Elsa stretched out an arm and felt the cold rush down the limb, exiting her fingers. When it hit the rabbit, the magic hunted for all the water inside the animal, then froze it instantaneously. The rabbit had been in midair, but once the magic struck it it fell to the ground limp. Its blood vessels had ruptured, which led to an overall bloated effect on the animal. Its eyes were bulging out of its sockets. Elsa winced, then the carcass exploded as the ice expanded further. Fur and frozen flesh flew for yards in all directions, some of which narrowly missed striking the queen. Her eyes widened in shock at this. _My God – that was horrible!_ She grimaced. _I guess it _would_ get the job done though..._

The fire sizzled as some of the juices from the cooking wolf corpse dripped into the flames. _Guess it's ready._ The meat moved through the air via the ice pole still embedded in the body, and stopped before her. Elsa conjured thin gloves of ice to protect her from the searing heat of the meat, then carved off a slice from a knife that appeared in midair. The queen took a tentative bite. And almost vomited. _This is revolting!_ However, her growling stomach overrode her taste buds, and she continued eating. Once the slice in her hands was done, she took another and consumed it with as much gusto as before. Eventually, though, the level of satiation in her stomach reached equilibrium with the level of disgust in her mouth, and she dropped the cooked meat. Taking a few moments to try and settle her stomach, she moved the snow back into the hole to cover the fire, which put it out rapidly.

On the ride back to her palace, Elsa's thoughts wandered, inevitably leading to her little sister. Which included the feelings for her. _Hell, I don't even know what I feel for her. Maybe that dream was a one-time thing, and all this is just residual from it. _Still, she was a bit scared to fall asleep again because she could have another dream like that. _Well, maybe it wasn't the dream._She attempted to analyze this the same way she had done with the fight. _Maybe all this is an extension of my protective feelings for her._ _Being forcefully separated for a decade might have something to do with it. Everything might have just morphed into something... more._ She was honestly terrified of what that "more" meant, though. _I can't have emotions like this for my sister. That's seriously wrong!_ _It's a grievous sin, having an attraction for another woman, especially my sister – but beyond that, I have a duty to my kingdom. _Elsa wasn't even sure what was happening in Arendelle, with the eternal winter and all. _Who's even in charge? _A shock ran down her spine as she realized that by her flight, she had thrust all the responsibility of command upon her sister. _And you find another way to wrong her._

By this time, the sled had reached the gap in the mountain, across from which rose the icy castle. With a flick of the wrist, Elsa reformed the bridge – but in her agitated state, it lacked none of the grace of before. Rather, it was a crude, blocky affair that serviced as a solid crossing but not much else. She ignored it and continued across, passing through the doors by creating holes in front of her and sealing them behind her, not even bothering to open them. When she reached her bed, the queen dropped onto it, causing a flurry of snow to kick up. _I guess the best thing to do would see Anna again, maybe talk to her, then go from there._ _That's problematic, though, since I can't let myself near her. _For the second night in a row, thoughts of her sister tormented her; Elsa wanted to be near her, but couldn't allow herself to. _Anna, why must you torture me so?_

She awoke the next morning to a loud knocking that echoed throughout the castle.

**I figured it was high time to kick this whole Elsanna thing into gear. I hope it wasn't too abrupt though. Plus I figured out that Frozen is/was set in 1840s Norway which gave me a couple plot ideas. I toyed with the idea of Hans being a raging communist (the Manifesto being published in '48), but that clashed with his princely title. Review the hell out of this thing por favor. I'm debating giving Hans his own chapter next, but I think that would detract from the plot too much as it would focus heavily on his own history and not feature these characters too much. **


	4. Chapter 4

**I am really sorry for the delay again! Unfortunately it might be the norm with the way my schedule's looking. Anyways, time for part 2 of that chapter! Thank you again for all the reviews and follows.**

Anna was unable to get to sleep. Even though she hadn't slept for well over 48 hours, she still was unable to rest. Thoughts and memories kept rushing though her head; she had given up laying on her bed and counting reindeer. All of this was tinged with sadness. _Elsa should be here._ The two had been separated for many years, so one would think that another couple days wouldn't make much of a difference. Anna tried to convince herself of this, but was simply unable to. Even the brief contact the sisters had had was enough to touch the princess deeply. For the longest time, Anna had held Elsa in the highest esteem, even though she had almost never seen her. Her memories of her sister consisted of playing together in their youth, then years of shut doors. Normally she would wait for a few minutes a day for her sister, hoping beyond hope that the handle would turn and she would finally see her sister. However, on Elsa's birthday, Anna waited for hours, just talking without expecting a response. After a time, the door had begun to _become_ Elsa in her mind in some strange way; she hadn't seen her sister in so long she only had vague memories of platinum blonde hair and blue, blue eyes. Some may have taken this constant rejection hard, but not the princess. She had elevated her big sister to such a high status in her mind that Elsa was incapable of any wrongdoing. Stemming from this was the thought that perhaps Anna herself had done something wrong that caused her sister to lock herself away from her. The thought saddened her greatly, and it wasn't until the coronation ball that she realized the real reason. In that moment, when the new queen had cast her magic for the first time before her sister, everything came together for Anna.

Ever since the coronation, her emotions had been in turmoil. The realization that she wasn't at fault for her sister's self-imposed exile – at least the one in her childhood – sent her feelings into upheaval. On one hand, she was relieved that she hadn't hurt her sister. Right on the heels of that was a deep sadness, that Elsa was still blaming herself for something that had happened years ago and kept all that guilt and hurt buried inside, sealing it away from everyone, possibly even herself. The admiration for her older sister was still there, but joining it was something akin to pride, that _her sister_ had command – at least somewhat – over snow and ice. Overarching all of this was a love for Elsa that was so deep it almost seemed elemental. It seemed to Anna to be one of the cornerstones of her existance: that the reason – partly at least – for her to be on this earth was to love her sister. She thought it must have begun when they played together, and her admiration for her sister and her talents had morphed into love at some point before Elsa had locked herself away, and then been compounded by the time spent apart. This love was a pure, selfless, giving love that is so rarely found. Not to say that Anna found her sister unattractive; far from it. Rather, her love was so much more than just a feeling. The princess had come to the realization some months ago that if it came to it, she would be willing to die for her sister.

* * *

Anna looked over to the stables where Kristoff had just led Sven. _I hope he'll be alright – they seem to have a great – albeit kinda weird – friendship._ She then turned towards the castle and walked through the doors that Hans' body had just been pulled through. The trail of blood had faded to a pathway of droplets once it entered the castle; the doctor had rebandaged the prince once he came in. Not wanting to confront the man, even if he was unconscious, she worked her way up stairs and through halls until she reached the hallway her and Elsa's rooms were located on. The princess paused outside her sister's room, then gingerly turned the handle and entered the one room in the castle she had never been in before. Instantly, Anna was struck by the austerity of the room. Other than a single painting of their parents that hung opposite her sister's bed, nothing adorned the walls. From her position in the doorway, she could see outside the massive window that took up almost the entirety of the far wall. The room even smelled like her sister; fresh like the first snowfall of the season, with a hint of sharp mint. Anna's surroundings made her sad somehow. _Elsa stayed in _here_ all the time? I would go crazy. There's __nothing to _do_!_ There was of course a small bookshelf near the bed, but a quick glance at it revealed titles such as "The Legacy of King Ulfric III" and "A Geographical History of Arendelle and the Surrounding Country." _Gross._ With a sigh, she left the room and closed the door behind her.

The princess knew there was no way she was going to be able to get to sleep in her present state of mind, no matter how tired she was, so she did what she did whenever she had such a mentality. Down the stairs at the other end of the hall and to the right was a small chapel, installed by the girls' father just after Elsa had been born. King Adgar had been a devout Catholic, and he had instilled the same faith in his daughters. Upon their parents' deaths, however, Anna fell away. She couldn't understand how a caring God would allow such a thing to happen – leaving the two girls orphaned, and forcing the responsibility of ruler down upon Elsa's shoulders years early. She had no idea how her sister took it, other than lock herself in her room more often; the servants talked about how Elsa didn't even come out for meals – she had them brought up to her. However, whenever a situation's circumstances grew to be too much, or her emotions threatened to overwhelm her, the princess went to the chapel. The room brought her back to simpler, peaceful times when her parents were still alive. It had room for only a few pews, and had two stained glass windows flanking the altar, located on the back wall. The one on the left was an image of St. Francis of Assisi, the king's patron saint, and to the right was the Blessed Mother. Upon entering the small room, Anna looked around briefly, then sat in a pew against the wall. _I know we're not really on speaking terms, but I just hope Elsa's alright. If you would – hell, if you're even listening – keep an eye on her. Please? I know I haven't done much to endear myself to you, but __just – please. Make sure she's safe._

After continuing this looping train of thoughts for a few minutes, she cut herself off. The princess was beginning to feel out of place, thinking to a supernatural entity in an empty room. She stood and walked out, closing the door behind her. Almost instantly, she ran into the Duke of Weselton, who was walking rapidly down the hall, nearly knocking him over in the process.

"P-Princess Anna?" he exclaimed, regaining his balance. "We-we heard you were dead!"

"I'm so sorry! Wait – who said I was dead? Was it Hans?" Anna's eyes narrowed.

"Yes. I take it that you're not, though. What happened?"

"Well, it –" Anna paused. "You know what? I'd rather tell everyone at once. Gather everyone who Hans was in direct communication with and bring them to the throne room. I'll explain everything there." The princess was shocked at her commanding tone and language, but she didn't feel a need to apologize. _Especially to this odd man._

"A-alright your highness." The duke walked away quickly to the point of almost running, looking back every few steps as if to make certain that he wasn't seeing things and Anna was actually there.

The redhead sighed. _I didn't really mean to say it like that – but it _did_ get the job done. I guess this whole ruling thing sneaks up on you._ She continued down the hall after the duke, stopping and looking up when she passed by a painting of her parents. After the customary month of dark drapery covering them, all such paintings were once more allowed to gaze upon the halls of the castle. _What would they think of Elsa now? What would they think of me? I hope they'd be proud. _Anna remained there for a few more moments, pleasant memories – what few there were – of the three of them together dancing through her mind, then resumed her journey to the throne room.

By the time the princess had reached the room, all the foreign dignitaries were already there. They had been talking before Anna had arrived, but upon her entrance, all turned and bowed. She blushed lightly at the attention, then continued across the room and stopped in front of the throne.

She cleared her throat. "Um- Hi gentlemen," she began hesitatingly, giving a brief cheery wave at the assembled men. Some of them blinked, others shifted uncomfortably. She continued. "You may have heard from a certain _prince _that I was dead. Clearly, heh, as you can tell, that is not the case. Now I haven't been told the full story of what you heard, so if someone could, well, enlighten me, that would be awesome."

They continued looking at her for an uncomfortable moment until a tall, skinny man with dark hair and a large nose stepped forward.

"Princess Anna, Prince Hans told us that your sister killed you." The small smile that was customarily on Anna's face disappeared. "He said that you two said your vows before you died, though."

"We most certainly did not! I can't believe I _ever_ trusted that –" She cut herself off before she said something she would regret gathered herself, then continued. "Prince Hans wants to rule Arendelle himself, using whatever means necessary. He almost _killed_ me on the fjord." Anna let that sink in, watching the men's reactions, which ranged from shock – the skinny man – to something akin to disappointment – the duke. "Well, long story short, Hans is seriously hurt, possibly dying, right now. The doctor's looking after him, but I don't know how he's doing. If he does recover, though, he will immediately be put under arrest." She didn't mention Sven, considering they didn't know him. _And even if I told them, they probably wouldn't even care._

* * *

"It doesn't look good."

That was the man's verdict upon inspecting Sven. "Of course, I'll do what I can, but there's not really much I _can_ do for head injuries."

Kristoff was in shock. He had been ever since he had caught sight of his best friend's mutilated face. The doctor had injected the reindeer with copious amounts of morphine so that he could do his work.

"The wounds themselves aren't dangerous – except for the eye. I'll need to watch that closely. Rather, it's the infections that can come from such injuries," the doctor continued.

"But... he'll make it, right?" Kristoff said woodenly.

"I can't make any guarantees. However, this one's young and healthy – he ought to pull through."

_At least there's some good news._ "Thank you," he said.

"Of course," the man said, distracted, his attention already back on Sven.

_Flash_

"C'mon, Sven!"

Kristoff had just finished pushing his block of ice onto their little sled; the reindeer was already harnessed in front. _We need to catch up with the guys!_ By the time the two of them had already made it to the top of the icy rise, the group of ice harvesters was already at the bottom of the slope and moving quickly. He wasn't worried about being left behind, since Sven and him knew their way around the woods already. Rather, he wanted to get to know the men better. It was his dream to be an ice harvester, and had become an apprentice of sorts to the group.

Sven and Kristoff entered the forest where the harvesters had, following the downtrodden grass trail the men had left. As they were travelling, the boy heard galloping horses, coming fast. He stopped at the edge of a small clearing – and was almost trampled by a pair of horses, one of which was trailing –

"Ice?" _No way!_ Quickly, he detached Sven from the sled and hopped on his back. "Let's go!" The reindeer hurried off down the trail of ice, Kristoff bouncing on his back. They were being led to a place he had never been before, deep in the wooded foothills of the mountains. As the duo was coming to an opening in the rock in front of them, he could see the horsemen dismounting beyond the entrance. Kristoff hopped off of Sven's back, not wanting to be known he had been following these people. The reindeer, of course, continued on its way.

"Sven!" the boy called, and the young reindeer rounded the corner towards Kristoff's voice. They crept up onto a rise overlooking a depression in the ground, and saw who the horsemen were. _It's the king and queen! And – the princesses!_

_Flash_

"C'mon, Sven! Let's get it!"

The pair was headed to a new lake, untouched by a harvester's blade. _So far, at least._ The patch of ice was nestled high in the foothills of the mountains, just below the treeline. Recently, the trolls he had been growing up with were beginning to get under his skin to an extent. He still loved them and was appreciative of all they had done, raising him, but Kristoff was growing restless, as all men of that age do. It had been years since he had sunk his blade into fresh ice, and was itching for a chance to do so. So as soon as he had finished his chores around the cave he lived in with Bulda, his adoptive mother, he hopped on his sled and started out to this lake. As far as he knew, only the trolls knew about it, which explained why the harvesters hadn't reached that ice yet.

As the duo approached their destination, Sven began letting out moans of excitement.

"Woah, boy!" The reindeer skidded to a stop, the sled whipping around to his right. Kristoff jumped off, saw in hand, and jogged to the frozen shore. As soon as his boots hit the ice, he stopped churning his legs, allowing the minimal friction between his feet and the ground to slow him to a stop, which turned out to be a good twenty yards from shore. Once he slid to a halt, the young man raised the saw above his head and with a yell, plunged it into the ice between his feet. He quickly slowed down to a more steady rhythm, and within minutes had produced two parallel lines forty yards long, five feet apart. He made the cuts at either end of the lines to create a long rectangular block of ice, then proceeded to cut perpendicular to his original lines every five feet or so, making enormous ice cubes.

Once he had harvested that line of ice, he secured it on his sled, then hopped on behind his product. What he had learned during his brief stint as an apprentice ice harvester was that when any new location was being reaped of ice, they collected a sample and brought it to the market for the people to see. The ice from each lake was similar, but unique – slight variances in the mineral content of the water and the location of the sources led to the small changes in texture and hint of flavor. There was a lake rumored to be hidden on the western slopes of the North Mountain, with waters so pure one could see clear to the bottom even at night. He disregarded these as exaggerations, but it was still his goal to make it there one day and see for himself.

The closest city or village of any significance was Arendelle, so he pointed Sven in that direction and they took off. In fact, Monchstad was closer, but only two hundred and fifty people or so lived in the small foresting community, so he didn't consider the one hour travel difference worthwhile, especially since Arendelle had well over seven thousand inhabitancts within the city walls. Upon reaching said walls, they notified the guards at the gate of their presence, then continued in. Every time Kristoff visited the capital, it seemed that ten new buildings had sprung up in his absence. One that caught his eye was a store specializing in climbing supplies. _I gotta check that out!_ _Business first, though._ When the pair arrived in the town square, he stopped then began to announce his arrival. This consisted of shouting, yelling, waving his arms, and basically doing everything he could to draw attention to himself and his sled as he could in the noisy, crowded marketplace. Kristoff succeeded in attracting a handful of customers who each took home a chunk of ice that he chipped off of the larger blocks. He managed to convince a few to even purchase an entire block each. In the distance, he caught sight of a royal guard approaching toward him. Right next to him was -

"P-Princess Anna!" he stuttered out as the pair neared, bowing.

"Hi! Oh – good afternoon," the redhead said as she recovered her stately bearing. "Are you new here? I mean, I don't think I've seen you before. Of course, Arendelle is kinda big, but still."

"No, your highness – I actually live outside the city, but came in today to, well, sell ice," Kristoff explained, gesturing toward his sled. Sven lowed.

"Aw, he's so cute! What's his name?" Anna asked as she stroked his face.

"It's Sven – we pretty much grew up together," he replied.

"Princess Anna, may I remind you we have a limited time here," the guard stated.

Anna gave an apologetic look to the ice carver. "Sorry. Um – could we have a sample to take back to the castle?"

"What? Oh – yea- yes, your highness, of course!" Kristoff quickly grabbed his pick and hacked off a section of a block, handing it to the girl.

"Thank you, kind sir," Anna said with an exaggerated air and a curtsy.

"My pleasure, your highness," he replied, bowing again. The ice harvester watched as the princess and her guard threaded through the crowd that split at their passing, headed towards the castle. Kristoff couldn't take his eyes off of her as they walked off. Sven nudged his side and grunted.

"Shut up."

_Flash_

"Sir? Sir?" The doctor shook Kristoff out of his reverie. He looked up and met the doctor's eyes.

"How is he? How is Sven?"

The doctor sighed. "He – he's alive." Kristoff let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet," the man warned. The ice harvester stood up.

"What?"

"I had to – he," the doctor began.

"WHAT!" Kristoff thundered.

"Go and see," the man said wearily. Kristoff hurried over to his friend in the next room, then came to a sudden halt, nearly toppling over.

"SVEN!" he cried. The right side of the reindeer's face was covered with a metal plate, covering even the eye. Kristoff rushed over and threw his arms around his best friend. The reindeer moaned weakly.

"I had to remove his eye due to its wound – there was nothing I could do for it. I'm sorry."

"But he's alright now, right? There's no chance for infection, is there?" His voice came muffled, as the man's face was buried in fur.

"Well, no. But the metal has to stay on, or untold problems could arise."

Kristoff rose and strode over to the doctor and clasped his hand firmly. "Thank you so much – I don't know what I would do if I lost him."

* * *

Anna had retreated to the sanity of her room after the meeting ended, unable to handle any more cynicism for the day. _Christ Almighty – I can't believe they thought this would somehow be good for the kingdom!_ She shook her head at the memory, then sat with a _poof_ on the bed. Lowering her head into her arms, the princess' thoughts turned to her sister. _How can she stay up there? No one wants to really be alone. This must be killing her._ Anna didn't really have much of an idea as to why Elsa chose to remain in exile out on the North Mountain, but she was sure the elder sibling had her reasons. Two thoughts struck her at once. _She needs someone to talk to. _And _I should go visit her!_ The memory of her last visit loomed in her mind, dark and foreboding. _What's the worst that can happen? If she freezes my heart again, I can just get Kristoff to kiss me again._

The princess had been able to keep the ice harvester from her mind for a while, but with that, Kristoff rushed to the forefront of her thinking. In all honesty, she wasn't really sure what to think. On one hand, Anna was supremely grateful that the man had saved her life and done everything within his power to keep her safe. He had guided her up the mountain, saved (kinda) her from the snow giant, took her to the trolls, and raced back to Arendelle to watch her leave him, possibly forever. On the other hand, though – _he isn't Elsa. _Anna's train of thought screeched to a halt. _Wait – what?_ Of course she loved her sister, but like the way Kristoff loved her? _Well, I would do anything for her. But – she's my sister! What the hell?! _She shook her head, red locks flipping about her head, trying to put that line of thought out of her head, but it merely receded into the background.

Filled with a sudden excitement for her impending excursion, the princess grabbed a bag from her room and threw an extra cloak in it. _I get to actually prepare for this trip._ She then walked down to the kitchens, servants stepping out of their way and bowing all along her path. Upon reaching her destination, she looked around for any sort of food fit for a journey. Anna ended up taking a hunk of bread and a couple links of landjäger. Thinking about it more, she also grabbed another link and a few hefty slices of cheese to (hopefully) share with her sister. Having gathered all she could until her excitement got the better of her, she left the castle and ran out toward the stables, bag in hand.

As soon as she entered the low wooden building Anna caught sight of Kristoff.

"Kristoff! How is he? Is Sven okay?" Her eyes had grown to the size of saucers when the princess saw him.

"He's alive, but – well, he's kinda got a metal plate on his head," the man said without emotion.

"Oh my God! Where – what – how big is it?" Anna's words came rushing out.

"It covers pretty much the entire side of his face," Kristoff said, gesturing to his own face as he spoke. "He-" He paused, tightening his lips and furrowing his brow. "It'll take some time for him to recover and get used to the thing. That _bastard!_" he shot out, furious.

"Kristoff – Hans is still in the castle. He's recovering, but then he'll be locked up and put on trial. Justice will be dealt," Anna reassured him.

The man looked at her with dark eyes. "I want to see that man dead," he ground out.

"That very well may happen," she said, "but it needs to be lawful." _Thank God I'm not tripping over my words – I need to make sure he doesn't go all vigilante on Hans' ass. _Kristoff merely grunted and turned away, walking back over to Sven and sitting on a stool near his right leg. Anna gazed sadly at the two, then turned back to her original purpose to come to the stables: to find a horse. Which she promptly did because after all, it was _a freaking stable._ A stable hand was nearby, and had her saddle fixed on her horse within minutes. Anna mounted, placing her provisions in the left saddlebag. As she left the stable, she turned right, as was her custom when riding out, but then realized that _the goddamn fjord's still frozen_ and simply rode the way she had earlier. As she neared the gate, she caught sight of Olaf – the snowman had completely slipped her mind once she had entered the castle.

"Olaf! I'm going to visit Elsa – want to tag along?"

The snowman chortled. "Of course! Wait - " he gasped. "Does this mean we'll bring back summer?" He gazed at Anna with massive eyes.

The girl laughed. "That's the plan!"

Olaf cheered. "Well let's get going!" He hopped on the back of the horse, which reared slightly at the sensation, but Anna rapidly regained control and began their journey out of the gate. Their path took them near where Sven and Hans had clashed, marked by a massive puddle of frozen blood. She lowered her head at the memory, then looked up with determination at the opposite shore, and beyond, her destination.

* * *

The sun was peeking over the eastern mountains by the time Anna had reached Oaken's shop.

"Yoo hoo! Ooh – welcome back! That – ah – friend of yours isn't here, is he?" the enormous man asked, fingers waggling at chest level as he talked.

"Kristoff? No, he's not. He's – well, long story." Anna knew if she started, she wouldn't stop, and she just _needed_ to see Elsa. _Speaking of – _as she opened her mouth to speak, Oaken continued.

"There was a girl in here looking in for you, you know," he said. He looked up briefly as if remembering something. "Ah, thin, blonde hair – she wanted food, but left with matches. As you can see, we're all out of foodstuffs." He waved his hand apologetically at the empty shelves behind her.

"Oh, it's fine. I actually just topped by to, um, just warm up I guess?"

"Ooh! Okay, well, take your time. There is a sauna, you know! Yoo hoo family!" _How long have they been in that room?_

"Thank you, but, um, I should really get going, you know?" Anna said with a smile. Right then, the door opened again.

"Wow! This building is warm – and so bright! Hey Anna, what's a sauna?" The snowman waddled forward, speaking the last word slowly, sounding it out.

"Olaf! This is Mr. Oaken – he owns this shop." She gestured back to Oaken sitting behind the counter. The man for his part had frozen with his hand in midair, partway through his customary wave, instead letting out a weak "yoo hoo" at this visitor's entrance. "Oh – um, well, a sauna is-" then she remembered what a sauna in fact was and who she was talking to. _I can't be held up._ Anna continued. "A sauna is like a storeroom where they store cheeses and meats and stuff."

"Oh, okay." Olaf continued looking around the store, and dropped the subject. _Thank you._

"Well, Mr. Oaken, thank you again – but we should really be going. Bye!" The princess walked out, grabbing Olaf's hand in the process. Luckily, the rest of the snowman followed.

Once outside, the pair remounted, and they continued their journey to the North Mountain.

"Hey Anna! What are we going to do once we see Elsa again? I mean, she kinda threw us out last time. Well, it wasn't really her – it was Marshmallow – and while it was fun flying through the air and everything I'm not saying it was something I really want to repeat-" Anna cut him off, laughing.

"Olaf! Actually, I don't really know. All I've done is bring food – she's been up there for days already; she's _got_ to be hungry. Hopefully, we can work something out." _And __not get thrown out again._ Even though Anna was almost painfully optimistic as to the upcoming encounter, she couldn't get the events that had transpired at their last meeting out of her head.

Partway up the mountain, her horse began whickering and snorting. "What is it?" Anna began looking around the lightening surroundings. Then she saw it. In the distance were a series of what looked like poles sprouting from the snow, and upon them – _wolves? Wait – what?_ She slowed and came to a stop as they neared the scene. _Elsa._ The spikes thrown up were unmistakeable. _Oh my God – she must have been attacked! The wolves must have come after her! _She noticed the singed fur on one of them. _These were the same ones that came after me and Kristoff! Well, they got what they deserved – I guess. _While most of the carcasses seemed relaxed, having died rapidly, quite a few were contorted, as if they died in agony. _She did it to protect herself._ Anna refused to believe she had done any of this for any other reason. She gagged, the smell getting to her. Olaf for once was speechless, simply sitting on the back of the horse looking around with his mouth open.

"Come on," the princess said cheerily, trying to lighten the suddenly dampened mood. "We have places to be."

Olaf returned to his previous state. "Yeah! Let's go get Elsa and bring back summer!" Anna grinned. Within minutes, the castle came into view on the side of the mountain, the sun reflecting off its facets and angles. _It's beautiful – just like Elsa._ _Wait – no. She's my _sister_._ _Elsa is my sister. _Unwilling to start down that path, especially when she was about to see her sibling, Anna pushed it down again. Once they reached the bridge in front of the castle, though, Anna realized something was different. For starters, the bridge was a mere shadow of its previous glory. _I mean, it _works_, but I liked the old one better. _Without a second thought she dismounted, grabbed her bag of food and crossed the span of the gorge, Olaf close behind. Once she reached the door, the princess paused. She began second-guessing her decision to come up her again. _She seemed really angry last time – I probably shouldn't even have came. Well, Anna, you're here now, so you damn well ought to make the most of it. _Anna drew in a deep breath, let it out, and after briefly looking down at Olaf for reassurance, rapped her knuckles sharply against the ice.

**Holy Moses the word count is blowing up. But the plot is moving forward, as is the Elsanna goodness – do y'all want to see more movement plot-wise or keep it the way it is going with thoughts and details? I won't know unless you review ;) . Also, in reviewing this I noticed the continuity of the chapter is a bit out of whack – basically the first segment is a look into Anna's thoughts/feelings and isn't really placed anywhere chronologically. Or maybe it takes place over the entire chapter. Take your pick. Oh and don't worry – the lovable Hans returns next chapter.**

**Landjäger – German/Swiss dried sausage. It's pretty good. They probably imported it – this is the nineteenth century, folks.**


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